Carpet-stretcher



UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

LOUIS E. EHRGOTT, OF MENDON, ILLINOIS.

CARPET-STRETCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,777, dated May 2,1893.

Application iiled June l, 1892. Serial No.435,200. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS E. EHRGOTT, of Mendomin the county of Adamsand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Carpet-Stretchers; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull,clear, and eiact description of the same, ref erence being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to theletters of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to that class of carpet stretchers, adapted to beplaced beneath the carpet, and by co-operating with the tloor and underside of the carpet, to stretch the same when pressed down by theoperators knee or foot, the object of the invention being to provide asimple device, not at all liable to slip and with which the liability oftearing or injuring the carpet is greatly reduced. l

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective viewof a device constructed in accordance with my present invention. Fig. 2is a side elevation showing the manner of using the device.

Like letters of reference indicate the saine parts in both figures.

Heretofore, stretchers of this character, have been made composed of asingle piece, with teeth at one end adapted to engage the floor and ineteeth or holding projections at the opposite end adapted to engage theunder side of the carpet.

In operation the carpet is tacked along one edge and the stretcherplaced in an inclined position beneath the opposite edge with the teethon its ends co-operating with the floor and carpet as beforeintimated,then'pressure being applied by the operator to the upper edgeof the stretcher by pressing the foot or knee against the carpet overthe same, and the stretcher will act as a lever of the third order, andin its downward movement, draw the carpet taut, a tack or other devicebeing then inserted in rear of the stretcher to hold the carpet inplace.

So far as the construction and operation are concerned, my presentdevice is quite similar to the above, but instead of providing thestretcher, which I shall herein term the stretcher lever A, with teethat the lower edge, I now mount it on a base B, and provide the latterwith holding points or teeth C, on the lower side, usually simple,conical or pointed, pins. The connection between the stretcher lever andbase is a pivotal one, and is formed by side arms D rigidly connected tothe sides ot' the stretcher lever and having their lower ends curvedtoward one side and united to the sides of the base by pivotal pins or athrough bolt. The curvature of the arms uniting the stretcher lever andbase, it will be noted, permits said lever to turn down flat as shown indotted lines, Fig. 2, thus securing a wider range of movement than wouldotherwise be possible. At the upper end of the stretcher lever, a seriesof fine holding teeth f are preferably provided, and surrounding vthemis a piece of soft rubber G or similar elastic material which, while itpermits the points to enter the carpet whenpressure is brought upon thesame, serves to free said points almost entirely from the carpet as soonas the pressure is relieved. The advantage of this is apparent, forwhile the points will hold securely when the device is in operation,they do not remain embedded in the carpet deep enough to prevent theready withdrawal or removal of the device, and there is little or nodanger of tearing or injuring the carpet.

The device is preferably constructed of wood, although it is obviousthat metal 'may be employed if desired, and inasmuch as great strengthis necessary, the arms or the pivotal connection between the base andstretcher lever should be made ot' metal in every instance.

The base section, it will be noted, is somewhat extended and thestretcher lever is united thereto at about the center, thus a firm holdupon the iioor is always insured, and if there should be indications ofslipping when the lever has reached a point near the limit of itsdownward movement the operator can, by pressing on the rear ot' the baseat once overcome such tendency and cause the device to hold securely.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- IOO base andlower end of said arms, substan` tially as described.

LOUIS E. EHRGOTT.

Vitnesses:

L. E. EMMONS, L. E. EMMONS, Jr.

